Species distribution and antibiotic sensitivity pattern of coagulase negative staphylococci isolated from blood culture of NICU patients

Abstract

Introduction : The study of blood cultures isolates was conducted on samples received from NICU of a tertiary care hospital at Ahmedabad during a period of two years. Objectives: To isolate, identify & find out prevalence of various species of coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS) from blood culture of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) patients. To study antibiotic susceptibility pattern of those isolates. Materials and Methods: Same staphylococcal species isolated multiple times from the each patient were considered true/probable pathogens and were considered for further analysis. Species characterization and antimicrobial sensitivity testing were done. The data was analyzed with WHONET 5.6 software. Results: Out of 4889 blood cultures received from NICU during the study period, 1465 samples were found positive (positivity rate of 30.0%). The most common CoNS species were S. epidermidis (64.6%) followed by S. haemolyticus and S. hominis. Septicemia by CoNS was more frequent in male & low birth weight groups. Isolates were least susceptible to penicillin-G (9.38%) while they were most susceptible to vancomycin (100%), teicoplanin (100%) and linezolid (100%). Methicillin resistance was found to be 26.04% among CoNS isolates. Conclusion: This study indicates importance of coagulase negative staphylococci isolated from NICU blood cultures and suggests that strategies to reduce such infections in neonates are needed urgently, to reduce their medical, social, and economic toll. Keywords: NICU, Neonatal intensive care unit, Antimicrobial sensitivity, CoNS, Coagulase negative staphylococci, Blood culture.